Ratchet-wrench



W.' F. KIESEL RATCHET WRENCH. APPLICATION FILED MAY 17 1921.

Patented Sept, 20, 1921.

WILLIAM F. KIESEL, JR., OF ALTOONAQ PENN SYLVAN IA.

RATC-HET-WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pate ted S t 20 19 Application filed May 17,1921. Serial No. 470,381.

To allto hom it may concern: Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. KrnsnL,

I J r., acitizen of the United States, and residing at Altoona, Blair county, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useiul Improvements in Ratchet-WVrenches, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to ratchet wrenches and particularly to wrenches of this type designed for performing heavy duties, such as openingthe drop bottom doors of freight cars loaded with coal or similar material.

The object or" the invention is to provide a wrench of this class which combines simplicity with effectiveness and strength so that it is easy to operate and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and also thor- I oughly efficient.

A wrench made in accordance with this invention 1s illustrated 1n the accompanying drawings in which: I

Figure 1 is a plan view of the wrench; Fig. 2 is a side view of the same and Fig. 3 is a section on line 83 of Fig. l. The wrench comprises only four parts, the work engaging ratchet 10', the handle 11,

v the housing 12 which rotatably supports the ratchet, and a rivet 13 which extends through the housing. and the handle and pivotally secures them together.

The ratchet wheel 10 has trunnions 10" concentric with its toothed periphery and a central opening 10 which may be square or which may have other polygonalform. The trunnions extend into, .alined apertures in the legs of the U-shapedhousing 12 andthe ratchet wheel is rotatably supported thereby in this housing.

The handle may be of any desired length depending upon the use to which the wrench is to be put andthe work to be done and is preferably of I-beam shape in cross'sec .tion, as shown in Fig. 2. The inner end of this handle extends laterally and terminates in a point 11 which constitutes a pawl adapted to coact with the teetliof ratchet wheel 10. The U-sh'aped housing 12 has its ends 12' inturned as shown in Fig.1 and these inturned ends are adapted to oscillate between the side flanges 11 of the handle so that the handle and housing have only a limited relative movement around the rivet l3.

In operation the wrench is placed in position with the memberto be turned extend ing through the opening 10 and the handle operated to effect the turning movement. it will be obvious that if the handle is moved in one direction the tooth 11 will engage one 01"- the teeth of the ratchet wheel and effective work will be done on the member to be r0tated,'while movement in the opposite direction will disengage the pawl 11' fromthe ratchet wheel and will cause the upper flanges 11 (Fig. 2) to strike the inturned toes '12 of the housing so that the handle and housing rotate together about the ratchet wheel into a position where the pawl 11 7 may engage a new teeth.

A feature of the invention resides in the formation of the housing member in one piece and in inturningits ends. The number of parts is thereby reduced to a minimum and the parts remaining are of very simple design and present a maximum strength for a given weight of metal used.

Having thus described the invention what.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A ratchet wheel of theclass described,

comprising in combination, a work engaging ratchet'member, a handle having an end comprising a pawl. for engaging the said ratchet member and having an abutment, and

a 'U-shaped housing pivotally attached to.

the handle and rotatablv supporting the ratchet member, said housing having its ends inturned toward the handle and adapted to strike the abutment on the handle when the handle is moved in'one direction to cause the handle and housing to move together, the pawl being disengaged from the ratchet upon movement of the handle in this direction 7 and engaging the ratchet uponinovement in the opposite direction. i

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

WILLIAM F. KIEISEL, JR. 

